"I have always been a fan of Doug [Marrone] and the Buffalo Bills, and just getting the opportunity to spread my wings, and to get up from under the shadow of Coach Belichick."

(added) "It was tough for him (and tough for) me to walk away but at the same token he knows the passion that I have for the game and I could not do that there with the Patriots,” Johnson professed. I needed to come out here and bring a Super Bowl championship to Buffalo.”

The truth comes out, babes hatred of BB goes far beyond his Gm work, as he shows with his shallow statement from above! Scar was retiring years ago but at the request of BB who in Scars words is the greatest coach he's ever been around, he stayed on.

Does anybody else see this guy for what he is, a very committed troll who literally hates BB and spends 17,000 posts trying to convince us of his ineptitude? I honestly do not believe he is a Patriots fan.

"I have always been a fan of Doug [Marrone] and the Buffalo Bills, and just getting the opportunity to spread my wings, and to get up from under the shadow of Coach Belichick."

Did Dante retire because of feeling fed up as well?

Pepper left because BB made Patricia DC. Pepper wants to make a name for himself (hence the getting out of BB's shadow) and realized that wasn't happening in NE.

As for Coach Scar BB said he knew he was retiring at the end of this season for some time which is one reason why he was replaced so quickly.

Could be. We can only know what we actually know.

Certainly Pepper could have put it a different way, less condemning of BB, no?

Actually we "know" this as well, unless you think Bill belichick is lying...

"Dante and I, we've talked on a regular basis at the end of the year about the future and so forth. I think that he's been very honest and always tried to do the best thing for the organization and did it in a way where we knew that he was going to retire," Belichick said in an interview on Boston sports radio station WEEI. "He extended his stay with us a little bit longer than what we first talked about a few years back. This is a transition we knew we were going to be making and we knew we were going to be making it this year."

Not surprising. Whether or not you like him as a coach, he does seem to loathesome individual.

From all indications BB is not a loathsome guy, but a pretty good guy. He is a control freak though, and prefers yes men around him. Having twits like Patricia and McD as the top guys under him prove that.

Every second the clock ticks his ship is closer to sinking as Brady gets nearer to the end.

Looks like Pepper and Dante just didn't want to invest more years into the "ride Brady to a division title" destiny that BB the GM has limited us to.

This doesn't surprise me anymore than BB wanting to get away from Parcells, or Mangini wanting to get away from BB. When you exist in the shadow of greatness for years and don't feel you get your due, you move on. Sometimes with temporary hard feelings, sometimes with mutual respect and well wishes, as is the case here.

Pepper has wanted and felt he deserved more for years. For whatever reason, BB felt his best fit was at linebacker coach. So it was time for a change in hopes he could achieve more elsewhere.

DeOssie was on WEEI the other day, and essentially said that Pepper had told him that BB was pushing him out. For some reason or another, BB wasn't satisfied with the job Pepper was doing. My thoughts? Perhaps BB is moving to more of a 4-3 look, and these leftovers from the 3-4 regime are no longer needed.

DeOssie was on WEEI the other day, and essentially said that Pepper had told him that BB was pushing him out. For some reason or another, BB wasn't satisfied with the job Pepper was doing. My thoughts? Perhaps BB is moving to more of a 4-3 look, and these leftovers from the conservative, 3-4 regime are no longer needed.

So, 13 years BB kept him, but suddenly he wants him gone. That makes no sense.

DeOssie was on WEEI the other day, and essentially said that Pepper had told him that BB was pushing him out. For some reason or another, BB wasn't satisfied with the job Pepper was doing. My thoughts? Perhaps BB is moving to more of a 4-3 look, and these leftovers from the conservative, 3-4 regime are no longer needed.

So, 13 years BB kept him, but suddenly he wants him gone. That makes no sense.

But I guess Pepper is a liar because that suits the homer spin.

That's not the "homer spin" -- those are the words of Zak DeOssie, a close friend of Pepper Johnson.

Over time, employees get complacent, circumstances change, as do philosophies. To think that Belichick may have wanted a change on the coaching staff at that spot isn't all that crazy.

Pepper says he was getting out of BB's shadow. When I read that, and combine that with my knowledge of what DeOssie said, that makes me think that Belichick was instructing Pepper to adjust a certain technique, scheme, or some part of his coaching, and Pepper could not, or would not.

To say that this is simply a mutual decision, and Pepper is moving on by his choice, I think is inaccurate. Again, look at what DeOssie said.

DeOssie was on WEEI the other day, and essentially said that Pepper had told him that BB was pushing him out. For some reason or another, BB wasn't satisfied with the job Pepper was doing. My thoughts? Perhaps BB is moving to more of a 4-3 look, and these leftovers from the conservative, 3-4 regime are no longer needed.

So, 13 years BB kept him, but suddenly he wants him gone. That makes no sense.

But I guess Pepper is a liar because that suits the homer spin.

That's not the "homer spin" -- those are the words of Zak DeOssie, a close friend of Pepper Johnson.